UCLA pitcher Rachel Garcia, seen against Sacramento State in a regional tournament game May 18 at Easton Field at UCLA, gets a well-deserved day off Saturday going into Sunday’s Women’s College World Series national semifinal in Oklahoma City. (Keith Birmingham/SCNG)

In sweltering Oklahoma City, UCLA’s workhorse pitcher threw two complete games in as many hot and humid nights to lead the third-seeded Bruins to Sunday’s 12:30 p.m. national semifinal against No. 6 Florida State.

Despite UCLA’s games starting well into the night in Oklahoma City, temperatures were still close to 90 degrees at first pitch. Garcia then threw 273 total pitches during the two victories.

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“My body feels pretty good,” Garcia told reporters about a half-hour past midnight in Oklahoma City. “This weather, I think it’s great. There are pros and cons to it, but the heat’s actually not bad.

“But, yeah, the day off (Saturday) does sound pretty great.”

Garcia needs as many days off as she can get, as the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year has UCLA within one win of a spot in the Women’s College World Series championship series. The Bruins (58-5) have two tries to get one win Sunday against the Seminoles to advance to their first national final since 2010. After losing to UCLA in the opening round, Florida State survived two elimination games Saturday, including an upset over top-ranked Oregon.

ESPN analyst Danielle Lawrie called Friday’s game a “must-win” for UCLA on ESPN’s studio show because it allowed the Bruins to avoid extra elimination games and a possible doubleheader Saturday that would have put extra strain on Garcia.

Unlike World Series teams like Washington, Oregon and Oklahoma, UCLA does not have two star pitchers. Therefore, the Bruins will likely play their ace at every turn.

Garcia has pitched 56 1/3 of UCLA’s 62 1/3 postseason innings. Freshman Holly Azevedo (six innings pitched, five hits, two earned runs) is the only other pitcher to get the ball. When the Bruins needed to win twice in one day to advance out of the regional round, Garcia threw two complete games in a six-hour span.

“She’s a beast,” head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said of Garcia afterward.

Garcia didn’t pitch during a nine-game stretch from late March to early April, which allowed her to be rested for the postseason, the coach said. Entering the NCAA tournament, Garcia had pitched 40.3 percent of UCLA’s innings after she threw 47.3 percent of the time last year.

Teammates joke if you’re ever looking for Garcia, you’re guaranteed to find her in the trainer’s room or the ice bath. The offseason addition of an off-speed pitch allows the Palmdale native to lay off her 70 mph rise ball when needed during long appearances.

Inouye-Perez conceded Garcia missed some pitches against Florida. The Gators hit three homers off Garcia after the pitcher had allowed only six all year. The Bruins battled back, scoring six runs despite recording only three hits.

Along with having the best player in the country in Garcia, the Bruins back the ace up with the fourth-highest scoring offense in nation.

“We’ve been very offensive throughout the season, but she’s carried a lot of the burden,” Inouye-Perez told reporters in Oklahoma City. “It’s so awesome to see a team have a pitcher’s back like that.”

Thuc Nhi Nguyen has covered UCLA for the Southern California News Group since 2016. A proud Seattle native, she majored in journalism and mathematics at the University of Washington. She likes graphs, animated GIFs and superheroes.